NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD, 1 June — Nearly three million people voted across the country yesterday in by-elections to three Lok Sabha and 12 legislative assemblies.
Polling took place amid heavy security check kept by thousands of armed personnel and only a few stray incidents of fisticuffs and stone pelting occurred, an official with the Election Commission said.
In Danapur on the outskirts of Bihar state capital police fired in the air to chase away a mob near a polling station. The voter turnout ranged from 45 to 70 percent in the constituencies. Votes will be counted tomorrow and results would begin to come in late at night.
Polling was also reportedly peaceful in Kunda in Uttar Pradesh where the commission annulled the last election in February because of poll frauds by supporters of the dreaded main candidate, former minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh.
The by-election to the Akbarpur Lok Sabha and three legislative seats in Uttar Pradesh were the first chance to test the month-old alliance between the BJP and Chief Minister Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In Jharkhand, Sunday’s vote count would be eagerly awaited by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) whose Ramesh Hembrum was trying to win the Dumka Lok Sabha seat despite stiff opposition from main opponent Jharkand Mukti Morcha President Shibu Soren.
A poor turnout signified voters’ indifference to Friday’s by-election in the Amalapuram Lok Sabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh that was rendered lackluster by a one-sided contest.
The election of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) nominee Vijayakumari, the widow of Lok Sabha Speaker G.M.C. Balayogi, is a foregone conclusion. The polling percentage was only 39, compared to 75.45 percent recorded in the 1999 Lok Sabha poll.
In Tamil Nadu, the most high profile contest was in capital Madras for the legislative seat of Saidapet. DMK candidate M. Subramanian is close to Karunanidhi’s son Madras Mayor M.K. Stalin. Pitted against him is AIADMK’s candidate, film star Radha Ravi. For Vaniyambadi seat, the DMK fielded popular singer E.M. Hanifa but the AIADMK chose R. Vadivel.
For the Acharapakkam seat, the AIADMK fielded A. Buvaragamoorthy and the DMK supported its ally PMK candidate D. Parvendhan.
In Orissa, a keen contest between the ruling Biju Janata Dal candidate Prafulla Samal and the Congress party nominee Naren Palai marked the by-election from the Bhadrak assembly seat.
In Karnataka’s Narasimharaja assembly seat. The ruling Congress’ nominee Tanveer Sait faced a tough challenge from Janata Dal-Secular candidate Maruthi Rao Pawar. In West Bengal, a high 70 percent voting was registered for the Onda assembly seat that fell vacant after the death of Deputy Speaker Anil Mukherjee.
